A Travelodge hotel guest got a nasty surprise when she switched on the TV in her room and saw the words "I'm going to rape you" pop up on the screen.

The woman immediately checked out of the Whitemare Pool Travelodge branch in Gateshead on Wednesday (21 January) when she found the chilling warning.

The hotel removed the words, apologised and gave her a refund when she informed staff.

Travelodge said it believed someone may have used the TV manufacturer's code to change the settings.

The hotel said this type of incident has never happened before.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said the hotel had been "great about it".

A Travelodge spokesman said: "We can confirm that a customer has advised us that an unauthorised message was placed on a television in one of our hotels.

"We have already been in contact with the customer involved and apologised that such a message could appear.

"We take the security of our guests and our systems very seriously and while this is an isolated incident, applicable to only one room, we have consequently launched a full investigation with our television supplier."